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Padres announce top 50 candidates for public address announcer

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Press Release |

SAN DIEGO - The San Diego Padres today announced the Top 50 candidates in the search for the next Petco Park public address announcer. The group was selected from nearly 800 in-person auditions and online submissions. Information about the Top 50 candidates can be found in the attached document and at www.padres.com/announcer.

Nearly half of the Top 50 candidates had the opportunity to showcase their skills last month at Padres FanFest presented by State Farm. The remaining group will do the same on March 15 during the "Swing for your Seats" home run challenge at Petco Park.

The Top 50 includes 45 men and five women from all over San Diego County and Southern California, and even across the United States, with candidates from as far away as Texas, Ohio, Georgia and New Hampshire. The group ranges from professional and amateur announcers and radio DJ's to retirees, small business owners and even a professional wrestler.

"The diversity of our Top 50 is a reflection of the great diversity of San Diego," said Padres SVP/Chief Marketing Officer Wayne Partello. "We're taking this search very seriously because this individual will be the voice of Petco Park."

Each of the Top 50 candidates will have the opportunity to announce at least one batter over the course of two exhibition games against the Cleveland Indians at the University of San Diego on March 28 and March 29. The Padres will narrow the field to the Top 30 prior to the start of the regular season on Sunday, March 30. During the first series against Los Angeles (March 30-April 2), each of the Top 30 will have the chance to announce part of a regular season game at Petco Park.

Padres fans will then have a say in who moves on. There will be a fan vote online and via social media in early April to help narrow down the field from 30 to the Top 10. Those 10 finalists will each announce additional parts of a Padres game between April 11 and April 20 before the pool is narrowed to the Top 3. As their final tryout, each of the three will announce a full game. Petco Park's next public address announcer will be announced during the series against the San Francisco Giants (April 18-20).

"We had an overwhelming amount of talented candidates try out," said Partello. "After reviewing the auditions multiple times, we decided to extend the timeline to ensure that each candidate is thoroughly evaluated."